


Journey

by everywintersbreath



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Desert Pirates, M/M, Treasure Hunting, mingyu and soonyoung are robots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-07-15 18:34:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16068908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everywintersbreath/pseuds/everywintersbreath
Summary: Nothing really happens in Junhui's village until the day that Minghao shows up with his two metal companions.





	1. Lots of Sand

**Author's Note:**

> i was listening to the ori and the blind forest soundtrack while writing this and it's so good ugh would recommend

"I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere."  
-Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones

 

It hurts.

He can taste it in his mouth, the grains slipping between his teeth and crunching as he desperately tries to spit them out. He’d lost the wet cloth that had been covering his face for only a few brief seconds, apparently long enough for the sand to completely invade his orifices. He’s curled into the ground, keeping his eyes squeezed shut as he tries to take in shuddering breaths despite the dust that seeps into his lungs.

There’s nothing he can do now but wait for it to pass. The sand has already thoroughly bypassed his clothing, scratching at his back and clawing at his thighs, pressed even closer into his skin by the fluttering of his robes in the wind. Junhui coughs, shuddering. Even if he were to open his eyes, there’s no way he’d be able to see anything. Attempting to flounder his way back to the village would be impossible and would likely only result in him becoming more disoriented. 

He wraps his arms around his head, the sleeves of his robes lifting up to allow his skin to be battered with even more coarse grains, all of them pointed and painful as they crash into Junhui’s body. Sand, Junhui thinks, is like ants. One grain isn’t worth much on its own, small and insignificant, but when many grains join together like ants in a colony, it’s terrifying. 

Absently, Junhui thinks about how long it’ll take him to stop finding sand in the cracks of skin after this, wonders if back in the village the sand has already managed to seep its way into the cracks of the buildings. He hopes no one is worried about him. Junhui hates making people worry. 

He shifts, and for a moment Junhui wonders if he’s discovered something. It’s almost as if with the change in his posture, the sand has stopped hitting him. Surely, that’s impossible, right? Perhaps the storm has ended abruptly. He cracks open one eye, peeking up through his arms, mouth forming a little ‘o’ in surprise. There’s a face looking down at him, a haphazardly constructed mechanical face that appears both fiercely handsome and sort of stupid at the same time.

The robot(?) smiles at him, the expression clunky and strange, something that looks almost like a clear plastic screen having extended from its back to cover them. The shield goes all the way to the surface of the sand, like a little dome, allowing Junhui to hesitantly draw his arms away from his face and get a better glimpse at the thing. “Hello,” the robot says, voice tinny in quality. A shy smile spreads across Junhui’s lips. “Hi.”

The robot shifts then, one arm moving closer to Junhui’s head. “Cover your face,” the robot says gently, somehow seeming to possess the ability to speak in different manners. Junhui obeys immediately, trusting his savior even if it is just a hunk of metal. A brush of sand comes flying in, presumably from under the shield, something big and warm colliding forcefully with Junhui’s side. He yelps in shock, eyes popping open just as the robot puts its shield back down. 

The sand takes a moment to settle, revealing a figure clad entirely in thick fabrics. No skin on his body is visible, the man’s breaths coming short as he snarls at the robot. “Stop rushing ahead. You know how hard it is for me to follow you.”

The robot’s metal mouth frowns, eyes shifting to Junhui. “He needed help!” The robot says, almost pitifully, receiving an irritated sigh from the robed man. “I get that. I’m sure he would have been fine if you’d waited ten more seconds.”

“Um,” Junhui mumbles, feeling guilty. “Thank you for helping me, but who exactly are you two?”

The robot is beaming again, which is honestly kind of weird to see considering that it has no teeth or anything else that should normally belong in a mouth. Its mouth is just a dark cavity surrounded by pliable metallic features. “My name is Mingyu!” The robot says, voice louder than before, clear above the sound of the sand battering the edges of the clear shield. The robed man snorts, rolling over, presumably looking at Junhui through the rags that cover his eyes. 

“I’m Minghao. I am a nomad of sorts and Mingyu’s one of my creations. You’re lucky we were passing through the area. Don’t go out into a sandstorm without being properly equipped.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Junhui says, embarrassed. “I was foraging and I went a little too far from my village when the sandstorm hit.” Mingyu continues to smile at him, disks rolling out to cover parts of his ovular eyes and make them appear more crescent-shaped. It’s simultaneously unnerving and cute. “Don’t worry about it! Minghao just likes being grumpy. What’s your name?”

“Junhui,” he replies, enchanted. Minghao sighs from next to him, rolling back over onto his back to stare up at the sand that whirls by above. “Less grumpy and more practical. I’m always willing to help someone, but try to help yourself first.”

“Y-Yeah,” Junhui says, mouth dry (and not just because of the sand). “Sorry, again, and thank you. It’s nice to meet you both.” 

Minghao hums, reaching one hand up past Mingyu’s shoulder to point at the outside of the dome. “The cloud’s getting thinner. We’ll be able to leave soon.” Junhui nods nervously, feeling somewhat intimidated by Minghao. “That’s good. Do you have a lot of experience with sandstorms?”

“We travel a lot,” Mingyu replies, his expression changing to a more wistful one. “What he said,” Minghao agrees, shuffling. “I have experience with a great many things.”

Junhui doesn’t exactly know how to interpret that, but the tone of Minghao’s voice when he says it is off as if it bothers him. He frowns, silently watching the world get brighter as the sand disperses, the blue sky coming back into view very slowly. 

“Let’s go,” Minghao says, fumbling in his pockets for something which he shoves into Junhui’s grip. “Wear this over your face and don’t let go of Mingyu. There’s still a chance for smaller dust clouds to rise up.”

“Okay,” Junhui practically whispers, unwrapping the cloth and draping it over his head. As soon as it’s secured, Mingyu retracts the shield into his body, Junhui’s vision limited through the mostly opaque fabric. He can feel the wind blowing against his skin and so he stumbles upright, grabbing onto Mingyu’s metallic arm lightly. 

Mingyu leads them forward into a clearer and clearer atmosphere, Minghao following behind Junhui as if to stop him from falling down and getting lost. As the lingering traces of the storm fade, it gets hotter and hotter, the burning sun once more able to shine down onto them. “Where are we going?” Junhui asks, his sandals threatening to slip off of his feet and expose them to the painfully hot sand. “My wagon,” Minghao replies unhelpfully, giving Junhui a little shove when he stops for a moment because there’s a pebble under his toes. 

Junhui grips Mingyu’s arm tighter, glimpsing the silhouette of a vehicle up ahead through the veil of darkness hung over his face. They get closer and closer until Junhui’s sure he could reach out and touch it. Finally, Mingyu stops, patting Junhui. “You can take off the rag. It’s safe here.”

Junhui obliges, hearing Minghao grumble something inaudible behind him as he does. The wagon itself is quite interesting to look at, a mix of wood and metal that manages to look artistically cohesive together despite how sloppy it might anywhere else. “It’s pretty,” Junhui says, being nudged inside by Minghao. “Thanks,” the other replies gruffly, going off into the other section of the wagon. Mingyu remains by Junhui, looking at him with his dark eyes. “You’re pretty,” Mingyu says, with what can only be described as a giggle, as mechanical as it is. 

Junhui flushes red, bowing his head to him in thanks, hearing Minghao insult Mingyu from the other side of the partition. Mingyu ignores Minghao, continuing to smile. Awkwardly, Junhui reaches up to brush some sand off of his shoulder. “You’re dusty,” he says, causing Mingyu to look down and examine himself. “Ah,” he says, pouting (or at least trying to). “How unfortunate.”

“Do you need help cleaning it off?” Junhui asks, unusually bold. Mingyu nods excitedly, stepping backward and grabbing a little brush and a bucket from a nearby shelf of the wagon. “Can you two quiet down?” Minghao asks impatiently from the front. “I’m trying to check for any damage to the engine.”

“Sorry!” Junhui apologizes immediately, taking the brush and bucket that Mingyu offers him and moving to the robot’s side. “Do you want me to just brush it off?” He whispers, receiving a nod from Mingyu. Slowly, Junhui starts, holding the bucket underneath to catch the majority of the sand as he meticulously cleans it from the crevasses of Mingyu’s body. Mingyu just stands there and blinks throughout the process, only moving when Minghao abruptly starts to drive and the both of them almost fall over.

Mingyu catches him, pushing him towards a bench on one side of the wagon. Junhui takes the suggestion, sitting down as the robot follows suit, allowing Junhui to finish brushing him off. “Do you want me to do the same for you?” Mingyu asks, receiving an embarrassed shake of the head from Junhui. “No, thank you. I’m alright.”

“If you change your mind, let me know,” Mingyu says cheerfully, starting to fiddle with something. Junhui hums, looking away to avoid some of the awkwardness, setting the bucket down. He examines the insides of the vehicle, not seeing much that gives away anything about Minghao’s identity. There’s a box labeled tools, some shelves with bits of scrap metal on them, and a drab looking cot off of the far wall. A tiny dancing robot bobs back and forth on one of the shelves, almost like an expressionless metallic hula girl. It’s cute, Junhui thinks.

“Oh,” Mingyu says, noticing where he’s looking. “That’s Soonyoung. He’s usually pretty lazy. I think he’s only dancing because you’re here.”

Junhui gapes, looking closer at the little robot, which folds its arms over its chest, shaking its head. “I didn’t know he was sentient,” he admits guiltily, receiving a shrug from the little guy. “Can’t talk,” Mingyu explains. “But definitely knows what’s going on and reacts to it.”

“Wow,” Junhui murmurs, getting up to take a quick step across the wagon, clinging onto the shelf to stop himself from falling over as Minghao makes a sharp turn. He holds out his free hand to Soonyoung, almost cooing when he walks onto Junhui’s palm, clinging on as Junhui makes his mad dash back to the bench. Mingyu reaches out to steady him, laughing again when Junhui opens his hand to reveal a disgruntled Soonyoung.

“Sorry,” Junhui murmurs to him. “Just wanted to see you up close.”

Soonyoung gives him a thumbs up, sticking his tongue out at Mingyu in rapid succession. “I think he likes you!” Mingyu says. Soonyoung nods and Junhui beams down at him. “Aw, thank you! I’ll try to live up to your expectations.”

“Don’t let his nice act fool you,” Minghao calls from up front. Junhui flinches, having forgotten he was able to hear their whole conversation. Something about Minghao makes him nervous, makes him want the other to like him. “He’s a brat.”

Soonyoung frowns, making a rather obscene gesture that makes Junhui clasp a hand over his mouth, hiding his laughter. “How naughty,” Junhui whispers, poking Soonyoung’s head very lightly. “Yeah,” Mingyu replies. “Real charmer.”

With that, the wagon comes reeling to a halt, Junhui’s body sliding into Mingyu’s at the abrupt movement. Mingyu straightens him out, shaking his head at Minghao when he walks out of the driver’s cabin. “Do you have to drive like a lunatic?” He asks, receiving a snort from Minghao, who’s starting to undo the layers of fabric that cover his face. Minghao doesn’t reply to his question, the fabrics coming to hang around his neck as his features are revealed.

Junhui stares, awed by how attractive Minghao actually is. Just Junhui’s luck, really. He had to have made a fool of himself in front of the most beautiful person he’s ever met. Maybe it’s just Junhui’s imagination, but Minghao seems to go a little red when he notices Junhui staring, turning and clearing his throat. “We’re at your village. At least, this should be your village unless you really wandered far today.”

“I didn’t,” Junhui replies quickly, getting up to follow him as he exits the wagon with Soonyoung still hanging onto his hand. Some of the villagers are outside, salvaging what’s still intact after the sandstorm and glancing over at the curiously. The village elder approaches, his hunched back straightening slightly when he sees Junhui behind Minghao. “What’s going on, Junhui?”

“These people helped me out in the sandstorm,” he says enthusiastically. “They’ve been very kind to me.”

The elder’s eyes widen as he looks from Mingyu to Soonyoung, and then back. “Well,” he starts, a smile spreading over his wizened lips. “I’ve never seen anyone like either of you two before, but any friend of Junhui’s is a friend of ours. Welcome to the village!”

“Thank you,” Minghao replies, bowing. Mingyu follows his example, even Soonyoung attempting to bend his little body into a respectful gesture. Junhui smiles at the display. “You guys can stay in my house if you’d like,” he says shyly. “I live alone. Don’t have any family here.”

“Yes,” The village elder says. “I’m sure you’ll like it. Our Junhui is quite hospitable. Just let any of us know if you need anything. Or if he bothers you too much.” The last part comes with a cheeky grin on the elder’s part, making Junhui whine in protest. “Kidding, kidding,” he amends quickly. “But as long as you stay here, this place is your home. Feel free to treat it as such.”

“Really, thank you,” Minghao repeats, flinching when Junhui grips his arm with his free hand and starts to tug him towards his home. “This way,” Junhui chimes, dragging him past the elders to his small little hut on the edge of the village. The cacti outside are blooming, although dusted over, a pretty little decoration for his already neat home. “Come on in,” he says to the other two (and Soonyoung, who doesn’t have much choice). “Might be sand around since I wasn’t home to properly block up any cracks.”

“It’s fine,” Mingyu replies. “We’re quite used to sand.”

Junhui smiles, holding the door. “I suppose you are, huh?” 

Soonyoung nods from his palm, hands on his hips. Junhui lets the door close behind them, observing the damage done to his house. It’s not bad this time, just a little dust around the edges of the windows and some sand across the flooring near the crack under the door. He sighs in relief, going over to the table to sit. “Feel free to make yourselves comfortable,” he says, watching as Minghao awkwardly balances himself on one of Junhui’s stools and Mingyu slumps down onto the couch. The difference between them is rather amusing.

Soonyoung scrambles from Junhui’s hand onto the table, peering around at the tablecloth with interest. “Do any of you want something to eat?” He asks, trying to be a good host. “Can you even eat?” He asks, this time directed at Mingyu. Mingyu shakes his head, looking up at the ceiling. “I can’t eat. I just require occasional servings of oil in order to keep running.”

“I don’t need anything, thanks though,” Minghao says then, looking over at Junhui. Junhui clears his throat, watching Soonyoung to distract himself from thinking about Mingyu and Minghao. “So are you guys just passing through?”

“Not exactly,” Minghao replies, leaning forward. “There’s something here that we’re looking for. Depending on the time it takes us to find it, we might be out of your hair sooner.”

“You’re free to stay as long as you’d like,” Junhui says immediately, scratching at his ear. A few grains of sand fall down, which makes him grimace. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you looking for?”

“Treasure~!” Mingyu yells from the couch, making Minghao roll his eyes. “Wow,” Junhui remarks. “Really?”

Minghao nods. “When I said earlier that were nomads, it’s mostly because we travel around looking for treasure. I managed to get my hands on a map leading us to this village, but unfortunately, I’m sure that others have the same information. Whatever’s buried here, it’s been kept secret for a long time. I’m hoping to keep it out of the wrong hands.”

Junhui blinks, shocked. “I never knew anything about something like that,” he starts, seeing Soonyoung turn to him. “But, if what you say is true, I’d be glad to help you find it. After all, you saved me! You can’t be bad people!”

“I appreciate your faith,” Minghao says warmly, seeming to have grown slightly more tolerant of Junhui already. “We’ll do our best not to shatter it. Your help would be greatly appreciated.”

Junhui beams. Adventure! At last!


	2. Riddle Me This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: i attempt to riddle

Minghao’s “treasure map” is really anything but what it sounds like.

It’s a collection of messily scrawled clues that seem to be in different languages and different dialects of those languages, some drawings along with them that do nothing more than confuse Junhui’s eyes further.

“Uh…,” he starts, squinting to try and make sense of the letters, numbers, and characters. “What exactly am I looking at right now?”

Soonyoung starts to laugh from the table, which makes Junhui’s cheeks go a bit pink with embarrassment. Immediately, Soonyoung stops, shuffling over to pat Junhui’s knuckle comfortingly with his tiny hand. Junhui reaches down to rub one finger over his smooth hair in gratitude, not yet receiving an answer from either of the other two people in the room who can actually speak. 

“Well,” Mingyu starts finally. “It’s not a conventional map, but it works fine. Minghao speaks a lot of languages. He’s very smart.”

Minghao shrugs bashfully and Junhui eyes him. “I don’t doubt it,” he murmurs. “But you’re going to have to translate for me if you want my help. I can only understand maybe one-tenth of this stuff.”

“Most of the starting scribble isn’t important,” Mingyu pipes up. Minghao nods in agreement, leaning over the sheet of paper to point. He looks quite serious, which Junhui would be lying if he said wasn’t attractive.

“The first line that matters says “over the goddess’ hand but not beneath her lips, you’ll find the land of occasional eclipse”. The goddess’ hand was the mountain range due north of here and we figured out that the lips part was about the lack of rain. The “occasional eclipse” refers to the volcano blocking out the sun at certain points in the day. Whatever’s buried, it has to be near here.”

“Wow,” Junhui says, intrigued. “That’s a neat riddle.”

“Mhm,” Mingyu agrees cheerfully, bouncing up and down on Junhui’s sofa like it’s his own. Junhui cringes a bit at the sight, noticing the amount of dust and sand that flies up with each movement. “So what comes next?”

“By the well with no water, there’s a man with no daughter. Here you will find my key.”

Minghao’s looking at him expectantly like he thinks Junhui will know what on earth that means. “Um,” Junhui stutters, blinking rapidly. “It’s not talking about an actual person, right?”

“I doubt it,” Minghao responds. “As I mentioned before, this treasure is supposedly pretty ancient so if it was referring to an actual person then they’d be long dead.” 

“We could check the graveyard!” Mingyu suggests, too happy for the location that he’s mentioning. “I’m thinking we should ask around about landmarks first,” Minghao says, a little sharp in tone. Mingyu deflates slightly, puppy dog eyes focused on Junhui. Junhui swallows.

“D-Don’t worry, Mingyu. I’m sure if we need to we’ll check the graveyard.” His words seem to bring Mingyu back to a state of excitement, the robot dancing around like a child. Soonyoung clings onto Junhui’s finger, pretending to back away like he’s scared. Minghao just sighs. “Yeah, well. That’s going to be a bit of a goose chase. It’s not usually written on someone’s gravestone whether or not they have any children.”

“We could always ask the village elder,” Junhui suggests. “It’s possible there was someone famous here who’s daughter died or something. Maybe we’re just supposed to figure out the lore.”

“Or,” Minghao cuts him off. “We could think about the first part too. How does the “well with no water” fit into some guy’s grave?”

“Maybe his daughter drowned?” Mingyu suggests weakly, making Minghao roll his eyes. He turns back to Junhui, his gaze sharp. “Do you have a mine around here by any chance?”

“I don’t think so. Why?” Junhui asks, hoping the question doesn’t make Minghao too impatient. “Well, wells usually draw things up from the ground, right? The only other thing that I can think of that does that off of the top of my head is a mine. I don’t know. Just an idea.”

“Oh!” Junhui exclaims. “No, I like where you were going with that. Maybe we should ask the village elder. There are probably some old mineshafts in this area somewhere. Have to be. Whether or not they’re safe is another story.”

“Okay,” Minghao says. “No harm in asking, I guess.”

“Let’s ask about the daughter too!” Mingyu chimes in, receiving an eye roll from Minghao. “Yeah, whatever.”

 

-

 

Very reluctantly (read: after a whole lot of pleading and sad puppy eyes from Junhui), the village elder turns over a sheet of old mineshaft plans to them, which Junhui pours over with some excitement.

The elder had admitted that he didn’t have a clue about the “man with no daughter” part of the riddle, but at least they’ve got what might be a lead now. Maybe there will be a skeleton down there with a key or something. 

Junhui pours over the old blueprints with the traveling trio, examining each entry point and exit point. They’ve been warned that it’s extremely dangerous and unstable, but Junhui doesn’t think he minds. After all, he’s never done anything this legitimately interesting in years. 

This is exciting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shining diamond mine~


	3. Coal Dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have been a very busy bee lo siento

They enter through a crumbling hole in a sand dune due north of the village. 

Most of the entrance has been filled in by drifting dust and sand which Junhui has to wade through on his way in. Above them, the stone roof creaks dangerously, the shaft leading down quite steeply. Junhui almost trips, saved only by Mingyu’s arm quickly darting out to grab him. He flashes the other a grateful smile, Soonyoung scoldingly hitting his shoulder in the meantime. 

Minghao hands Junhui something, the object blurred by the shadows. Minghao’s fingers guide his own, pressing them over a small switch on the side of the object which sends light pouring out from the front. Junhui’s mouth drops open in delight. Minghao had told him to not worry about bringing lanterns, but this isn’t what he was expecting. He’s never seen a real flashlight before, only heard of them. His village isn’t exactly the first to get new inventions. 

“Awesome,” he breathes, glancing up at the others turn on their own flashlights. Minghao seems amused by his reaction, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear in the now wavering light. “You can keep it. We have more.”

“Thank you!” Junhui beams, fiddling with the device as Mingyu strides ahead, scanning back and forth like some sort of guard dog. “Don’t mention it,” Minghao replies shyly, matching Junhui’s pace as they go further into the tunnel. It gets colder, the stinging air far more humid than that of the surface. Junhui continues to look around, scouring for anything that can help them.

There are many little offshoots of the main passage, all of which are coated in copious amounts of coal dust and broken rocks. Junhui pokes his head inside for long enough to figure out that there’s nothing inside and then comes back, coughing. Up ahead, Mingyu and Minghao don’t seem to be having much luck either.

Soonyoung tugs on Junhui’s shirt, directing his attention to where Mingyu appears to have gotten stuck inside a minecart. Junhui starts to giggle, attracting both of the others’ attention. Mingyu, if he could, would probably be blushing. Minghao just shakes his head, sighing. Junhui notices that he’s most definitely smiling, despite trying to hide it.

Finally, Junhui decides to take pity on Mingyu since Minghao doesn’t seem inclined to do so, going to the cart and reaching under his metal armpits. Mingyu clings to his shoulders, grunting as Junhui tries to pull him free. He’s surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly since he’s made of metal) heavy, and Junhui stumbles a bit. 

“Whoah,” Mingyu says. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“I won’t,” Junhui pants. “Just need one more good pull and I’ve got you.”

He reaches back under Mingyu’s arms, yanking as hard as he can. There’s a rumbling noise, and for a second Junhui thinks Mingyu’s gotten unstuck.

Then, he’s thrown into Mingyu’s body, the cart starting to roll down the tracks deeper into the mine. Minghao looks over in alarm as Junhui shrieks, too slow to stop the cart’s progress. It starts to speed up, making Junhui cling uncomfortably to the side and pray that he doesn’t fall off and crack his head open. Minghao’s yelling down the shaft behind them and Soonyoung’s hiding his face behind Junhui’s ear, Mingyu’s arms slowly wrapping around Junhui to secure him to the cart.

It doesn’t seem to have much of an intention of stopping so Junhui leans into the touch, hoping Mingyu’s arms might act as some sort of seatbelt and stop him from going flying into a rock wall if the cart stops suddenly. His flashlight is wedged in between Mingyu’s body and the cart, sending light ricocheting off every wall of the tunnel until the cart finally comes to a stop. 

“G-Gosh,” Junhui says, winded. “I think six years just came off the end of my life.”

“I apologize,” Mingyu says guiltily. “I should have analyzed the structural positioning of the cart before putting you in danger by having you remove me.”

Junhui pats him softly. “It’s not your fault. Accidents happen, and none of us are hurt, so it’s okay!”

From up the shaft, Minghao’s yells echo, his figure finally coming into view, clearly exhausted from having sprinted down the tracks. “I want to say so many things,” he mutters bitterly. “But none of them are very appropriate, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Confidently, he regains his normal stance and brushes past Junhui, going to yank Mingyu from the cart. It takes him only one try, the action looking a lot easier when Minghao does it. Not fair, Junhui thinks. He probably has past experience or something. It’s not like Junhui’s in any way weak, after all. 

Suddenly, Soonyoung’s pinching his neck hard, gesturing at something. Junhui flinches, swiping his flashlight from the cart and pointing the beam in the direction of Soonyoung’s gesticulations as Minghao tenderly dusts Mingyu off. 

Engraved on the wall, there’s a series of pictures, a few notes scrawled along them in places. The language is so antiquated that it’s difficult for Junhui to digest, blurring in front of his eyes when he moves closer to read it.

There’s a map of the mine with several locations marked on it, a small drawing nearby. The drawing’s of two spiky trees outside what looks identical to the mine entrance they had come in (save, of course, for the amount of disrepair due to age). Junhui squints, noticing that the significantly smaller tree has been crossed out. There are several scratches over it as if it had died and the miners had removed it from the picture.

Oh, Junhui thinks. A man with no daughter. A tree whose offspring died?

“Guys, look!” Junhui says, showing them. He explains his hypothesis, getting a raised eyebrow from Minghao. “It could very well be. The minecart could serve as the bucket in the well metaphor, but there’s one problem.” Junhui tilts his head curiously, feeling Soonyoung stomp around in his hair. 

“There definitely weren’t any trees outside.”

Junhui bites his lip sharply, knowing that Minghao’s right. “The older tree must have died too. Maybe there’s a stump left, or some roots or something?”

“While it likely did have some pretty deep roots to survive in this climate, I doubt someone would have gone to the trouble of burying a key inside of one,” Minghao muses, looking around. “I mean, from these drawings, it looks like these trees at least had sentimental importance. Perhaps the wood’s been used elsewhere in here.”

“So we just look around for wood?” Mingyu asks. “Isn’t that a bit of a goose chase? How do we know which wood came from that tree? How do we know this key wasn’t just removed when they cut it down or it died?”

“We have to try, at least while we’re down here!” Junhui urges. “I’m sure we’ll know when we get close to the key. It won’t be in just a board or something.”

“Okay,” Minghao sighs. “Because Junhui wants to, let’s split up and look around. I’m limiting this to an hour though, okay? Then we’re going back to ask the elder again.”

“Great!” Junhui exclaims, reaching up to his shoulder to give an awkward high-five to Soonyoung.

-

It takes thirty minutes for Junhui to find it, a little wooden totem revealed by his foot kicking aside the coal dust that had previously covered it up. 

He bends down immediately, picking it up in his hands. It’s beautiful handiwork, the freshness preserved since it hasn’t been exposed to the moist air. Dusting it off, Junhui notices a latch on the side, which he undoes with his fingers, opening the totem up. A tiny key rests in the middle, making a grin appear across Junhui’s lips.

He closes it very carefully, turning to run back down the passage from which he came, yelling for the others’ attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u all have a great day/night


	4. SANDwich

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me updating a fic after like 4 months ????????  
> more likely than u would think

The totem, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to get them much closer to the actual treasure at the end of the riddle.

Junhui slumps down on his couch, watching absently as Minghao and Mingyu go over the “treasure map” again and again, Mingyu’s form leaning right up against Minghao’s. They seem quite close. Junhui almost wishes he could act like that around something.

Almost as if hearing his thoughts, Soonyoung clambers up his sleeve, stepping over the seam of his shirt and creeping closer to Junhui’s neck. Junhui looks at him with amusement, expecting some sort of friendly contact. Instead, Soonyoung sharply pinches the skin on the side of his neck, making Junhui cry out quietly.

Both Minghao and Mingyu whirl, the former staring at them with narrowed eyes. “Quit it, Soonyoung,” he warns. Soonyoung puts his small hands on his hips, pointing urgently at the door and reaching for the side of Junhui’s neck again. “I’ll look at what you want me to,” Junhui whines. “Just don’t pinch me again, okay? Let’s go.”

He lets Soonyoung walk back onto his hand, holding the other in front so he can more clearly direct him. “He probably just wants you to buy him something, Junhui,” Minghao cautions. “Don’t worry about it.”

Soonyoung crosses his arms, sticking out his tiny metal tongue at Minghao and earning a soft giggle from Junhui. “I’m sure he has a reason.”

 

Minghao turns away, Mingyu immediately following suit, indicating that the conversation is over. Junhui shrugs to himself, opening the front door and poking his head out. Soonyoung is still gesturing wildly, trying to get him to walk further forward. “Okay, okay,” Junhui laughs out, walking in the direction he had indicated.

Soonyoung directs him through several alleyways of sandstone homes to the town square, where Junhui is faced with a rather odd sight. Similarly to the day that he had brought Minghao and company home, there’s a large van sitting near the edge of the square, a group of disheveled adventurers standing around talking to the town elder. 

Soonyoung rapidly gestures for Junhui to squat down, and so he does, peeking his head out from behind the small wall that he’s been led to. With a deliberate amount of precision, Soonyoung gestures in the direction of the people and then makes an angry face and imitates two devil horns over his head. 

“Bad people?” Junhui asks, receiving an eager nod. Junhui purses his lips, trying to hear. They’re asking about treasure, it seems, so perhaps one of the rivals that Minghao had briefly mentioned the other day. The words are faint, but he can still make them out.

“Has anyone else asked you about the treasure in this area?” 

Junhui bites his lip, willing the elder to lie. Unfortunately, lying is not in the blood of their people. “Yes. In fact, there’s a group of travelers here right now looking for the same prize.”

Soonyoung mimes a hopeless shrug up at him, making Junhui laugh nervously. He hopes that nothing bad happens to his new friends, but now that he thinks about it, lying probably wouldn’t have helped anything. They were bound to encounter each other at some point, especially with how conspicuous Minghao’s vehicle is (parked haphazardly beside Junhui’s house).

“Would you happen to know their names?” One of the members of the group asks, an eyepatch covering his left eye. Soonyoung grimaces, and then all of a sudden he’s tripping backwards out of Junhui’s hand, eyes startled.

Junhui yelps in surprise, diving to catch him and knocking over a barrel in the process. It falls with a loud clatter, earning him a pair of reddening cheeks and a glare from Soonyoung, who Junhui quickly stuffs in his pocket when he hears the elder’s next words. “Is someone there?”

He stands up, scratching at the back of his head with an awkward smile on his face. “Sorry. I was carrying some trinkets over to the market and one of them rolled away from me.”

The elder nods, having no reason to believe that Junhui is lying. “Very well. Junhui, these people might be of interest to you. This is Minhyuk, Dongsoo, and Minji. They’re looking for the same treasure as your guests.”

“Nice to meet you,” Junhui says, smiling quite nervously, one hand raised. The man in the front, Minhyuk, nods at him, eyes tracing his face. Junhui feels extremely uncomfortable. “Well, if you want to talk or anything, I’ll be around!” He manages to force out, darting back behind the cover of the wall and hurrying toward his own house.

Faintly, he hears the elder call after him, but Junhui doesn’t care at the moment. He feels like it’s pretty important that he talks to Minghao about this development.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (other character names are randomized, not referring to anyone in the industry)
> 
> ok so like i listened to pirate king by ateez once and i was like "i dont like this song" and now ive had it on repeat for two hours ??? its so good OOOEEEEOOOO

**Author's Note:**

> how many unfinished junhao fics can i have running at once? we shall see
> 
> thank you for reading <3
> 
> let me know what u think if you want to :)


End file.
